“The Incredible Hulk” smashes away all the painful memories attached to Ang Lee’s hopelessly melodramatic take on the Jade Giant and continues to uphold the mark of excellence created by Marvel Studios “Iron Man.” Where the 2003 film featured a Hulk that was a lumbering baby faced loser with daddy issues, the 2008 flick showcases an energetic, angry Hulk smashing his way through anything and everyone that gets in his way. Another thing that distances this new take on the Hulk from the prior shitfest is the appearance of an actual villain. In the last film he faced off against “hulked out” dogs and Banner’s father who was kind of an amalgamation of the classic Hulk foes Zzzax and The Absorbing Man. This time around he’s actually got a great villain to face off against in Tim Roth’s portrayal of Emil Blonsky AKA The Abomination. Basically, this is the Hulk movie fans have been waiting their entire lives for.
If you don’t know the story behind The Hulk, then welcome to earth and enjoy your stay. He’s one of the five or six comic book heroes that pretty much everyone knows the origin of, so I won’t waste time recounting it here, Google “Hulk” if you’re still confused. Recognizing this fact screenwriter Zak Penn and director Louis Leterrier take the Hulk’s origin storyline that made up the bulk of the 2003 film and cram it into a five minute montage that plays behind the opening credits. This is a genius move that frees the film from the confines of forced storytelling at allows the movie to move along at break neck pace. When the film opens Banner’s already the Hulk and he’s hiding out in Brazil working in a bottling factory attempting to not allow the locals to see his “dark side.” This is not a sequel or a reimagining, “The Incredible Hulk” behaves just as any fan of the comic would, it ignores the prior film’s existence completely.
Eventually Banner slips up and General Ross traces the mistake back to Bruce’s location and arrives on his doorstep with a bunch of military men including the aforementioned Blonsky. They chase Banner through the shanty towns of Rio de Janeiro and after attempting to corner him in the bottling plant they unwittingly unleash his alter ego. This is one of the best parts of “The Incredible Hulk” most of the battle occurs in the dark with the Hulk reaching out and attacking his oppressors like a monster in the night. He grabs full grown men and drags them into the darkness leaving behind only their screams of terror to acknowledge they ever existed in the first place. Banner ultimately escapes but not before offering Blonsky a glimpse at the creature Banner has become.
Blonsky demands to know just what the hell it was they were up against and General Ross explains that the Hulk was created inside Banner after a project they were working on together with Ross’ daughter Betty went horribly wrong. That venture is referred to as “The Super Soldier Project.” While that phrase means little to the average viewer, comic fans will immediately recognize it as the project that would eventually create the Marvel comics character Captain America. Blonsky immediately sees the chance to regain his lost youth and energy and nominates himself to be the next test subject for the newly finalized version of the super-soldier serum. The next time Blonsky and the Hulk meet up, it’s a different battle altogether. While he’s yet to mutate into the Hulk sized creature appropriately named “The Abomination” he’s still able to give the Hulk a decent fight.
Almost all of the actors in “The Incredible Hulk” bring their A game to the table for this film. Norton is perfectly cast as Bruce Banner, a somewhat milquetoast scientist that has had his entire world turned upside down. William Hurt is excellent as “Thunderbolt” Ross an Army Man torn between his daughter and his Ahabesque quest for his “green whale.” Hurt gives a believable performance on par with Jeff Bridges’ surprisingly adapt take on Obadiah Stane in “Iron Man.” Probably the best bit of casting was putting Tim Blake Nelson in the role of Samuel Sterns, a scientist attempting to free Banner of his curse. Just as in his scenes in “O Brother Where Art Thou?” and an episode of the ill fated “Stella” Nelson utilizes his terrific sense of comedic timing to elevate all the scenes he appears in. Plus, his character’s name should be more than a bit familiar to any Hulk fans in the audience and he puts himself in the “lead” for the choice of the sequel’s villain. The only truly terrible acting on display is from the main person everyone’s expecting it from, Liv Tyler. This comes as no surprise considering she has never once given any sort of a meaningful performance in her life. Her scenes in “Lord of the Rings” exist to give audience members the “high sign” to make a run for the toilet. Truth be told anyone could have played the role of Betty and it wouldn’t have had any real impact on the final product. This time around the filmmakers know that they’re making a movie about the Hulk and not some painfully long art house play about gay cowboys eating pudding.
This is the Hulk movie fans wanted to see when “Brokeback Mountain” director Lee took his 138 minute long shit in theaters five years ago. The CGI effects are miles beyond the poorly made ‘03 version, particularly the scene featuring Betty comforting the Hulk inside a rain drenched cavern. But even in the unforgiving light of day during the Hulk’s first encounter with the new improved Blonsky he still looks good. The Abomination on the other hand could have used a little more work, especially his character design in general which lacks any real definition or interesting features. The scene where Blonsky finally transforms into the creature is poorly edited and rather anticlimactic; it feels like there were parts of the film that were missing. But that being said his fight with the Hulk at the end of the film in the middle of Harlem is simply phenomenal.
“The Incredible Hulk” has far more in common with the original 70’s television show than it does with Ang Lee’s forgettable version. Nods to the series include appearances by Lou Ferrigno, the deceased Bill Bixby, letters addressed to “David” Banner and even the original iconic piano theme song. Of course no Marvel film would be complete with out a cameo by Hulk co-creator Stan “The Man” Lee and even Robert Downey Jr. shows up as Tony Stark. Add to that mentions of S.H.E.I.L.D. and weapons proudly displaying Stark Industries logos and you’ve got yourself a fanboy’s wet dream. From stretchy purple pants to hearing the Jade Giant actually say “Hulk Smash!” it’s all in there. Along with “Iron Man,” “The Incredible Hulk” makes up for every shitty Marvel comic movie I’ve ever sat through. Both “Fantastic Four” films, “Ghost Rider,” “Elektra” and the last “Spider-Man” and “X-Men” bombs feel like distant memories. For the first time in this fanboy’s life it’s great to be both a Marvel Comics zombie and a movie fan.
9 out of 10 Thunderbolt Ross moustaches
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